Author: staff
“I am a strong believer in a sustainable model of development,” Silvio Gonzato, the EU’s ambassador to Albania, told POLITICO. “So it breaks my heart sometimes to see the things that have been done because I recognize the same stupid mistakes that we made in Italy, in other parts of Europe, maybe in Romania,” he said. “We’ve been advocating that you cannot, again, ask member states to grant you a 10-year [exemption] from EU rules in the environmental sector and then pursue a model of development that aggravates the problems,” said Gonzato. Albania has passed controversial laws on strategic investments…
This rule does not require airlines to include a link to the compensation form or a pre-filled form — two ideas pushed by Parliament but rejected by EU countries. Criteria for extraordinary circumstances The criteria was also revised for so-called extraordinary circumstances — cases in which airlines do not have to pay compensation to passengers for flights canceled or delayed because the disruption is outside carriers’ control. EU policymakers agreed that this concept “should refer to events which, by their nature or origin, are not inherent in the normal exercise of the activity of the air carrier concerned and are…
Published on 12/06/2026 – 8:32 GMT+2•Updated 11:38 Thai Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol has died aged 47, more than three years after she was hospitalised following a sudden illness, the royal palace announced on Friday. The king’s eldest daughter was suffering from an abdominal infection and was relying on medical devices to support her lung and kidney functions, until she passed away peacefully on Thursday evening. She will lie in state at the Grand Palace in Bangkok and her funeral will be held “with the highest honours according to royal tradition”, the Bureau of the Royal Household added. Known in Thailand as…
The Pentagon claims these steps are necessary to rebalance European and U.S. contributions to the continent’s defense, but the decision to halt the Tomahawk sale points to a far more disquieting reality: Not only is Washington no longer deploying deep precision strike systems to Europe, it’s also denying its European allies the capacity to arm themselves with these systems out of fear of Russia’s reaction. In other words, the U.S. is now actively looking to decouple its security from Europe’s. This isn’t the first time decoupling has become an issue in transatlantic relations. Concerns over such decoupling first surfaced in…
Published on 12/06/2026 – 9:01 GMT+2 A journalist was killed in the Mexican state of Veracruz on Thursday, hours before the country hosted the opening match of the 2026 World Cup. Luis Ángel López Valdez, a crime reporter for the Vanguardia de Veracruz news outlet, was fatally shot in the city of Poza Rica in the northern part of the state, the paper said. According to the report, the vehicle he was travelling in was intercepted by armed persons in the early hours of the morning. The reporter is believed to have received threats prior to his death. The University…
By Sertac Aktan with AP Published on 12/06/2026 – 9:17 GMT+2 Israeli warplanes carried out an airstrike in the Nabatiyeh area of southern Lebanon on Friday morning, sending a large plume of smoke rising over the horizon as hostilities continue to escalate. The early morning strike followed days of intensifying regional violence that has devastated local communities and displaced a significant portion of the population. The Friday morning strike followed a chaotic Thursday that saw the United States and Iran exchange fire for a second consecutive day. The crossfire was triggered after US President Donald Trump issued a warning that Tehran would pay…
Did Dua Lipa celebrate her wedding in Sicily by eating spaghetti straight out of a pot? That’s what many social media users appeared to believe after a series of photos claiming to show the pop star marrying actor Callum Turner in a lavish Italian wedding went viral online. The photos, some more obviously AI-generated than others, appeared to show Dua posing with guests and dancing with famous faces in the streets of Sicily. But these images are not real. They were generated using artificial intelligence and spread rapidly across social media platforms, including X, Instagram, Facebook and Threads. Although some…
Former football star David Beckham received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Friday during a ceremony in Los Angeles. Beckham posed beside the newly unveiled star with his wife Victoria Beckham, actor Tom Cruise and other guests. The event also included members of the Beckham family, with Romeo, Cruz and Harper in attendance. Speaking at the ceremony, Beckham reflected on his connection to the United States and the growth of football in the country, saying he was proud of the role he has played in bringing the sport to a wider American audience. Tom Cruise and Victoria…
Russia’s initial invasion of Ukraine, launched 12 years ago, started with the annexation of Crimea, a strategically important peninsula in southern Ukraine jutting into the Black Sea. Since then, Ukraine repeatedly said that for Kyiv the war will not be considered fully over until Crimea is liberated and restored to Ukrainian sovereignty and returned to its indigenous Crimean Tatar community. For Moscow, Crimea is the most prized trophy of its invasion and the war against Ukraine, and is the territory Russia is likely to relinquish last if at all. But with Ukraine’s strengthened intensity and efficiency of drone strike campaign,…
Published on 12/06/2026 – 21:53 GMT+2 The European Commission has sent a third letter to the Venice Biennale Foundation, whose current edition runs until 22 November, requesting further clarifications regarding Russia’s controversial participation in the event. The European executive sent a second letter seeking answers a few days after the opening of the 61st International Art Exhibition, launched on 9 May, according to Henna Virkkunen, the European Commissioner for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, who announced in a Q&A session in Brussels with reporters. The news was followed by a response from the Russian Ambassador to Italy, Alexey Paramonov, who…